Cast Roundup: The return of Walder Frey, and covering magazines

Here are a few small Game of Thrones related treats for your eyes on this Sunday evening.

IGN caught up with David Bradley recently on the set of his new television series The Strain, and didn’t miss the chance to ask about one of the most hated characters on Game of Thrones.

On the subject of “good” and “bad” characters, Bradley admits that Walder Frey lands in the category of totally irredeemable, and jokes that “You don’t invite guys like that to your wedding.”

He also discusses the reaction to the infamous Red Wedding, and reveals that we might be seeing him again soon:

“I’ve had people winding their car windows down and shouting at me. [laughs] …They shout, “I can’t forgive you for what you’ve done!” Michael McElhatton (“Roose Bolton”), who was my co-conspirator in the Red Wedding, when we finished the scene, we both agreed that we might just stay off the street for a few days. [laughs]

I bumped into David Benioff and a few of the Starks that I, um, got rid of at Comic Con in San Diego last year, and we all had a meal and a drink. And they said, “Oh, we’ll be seeing you again soon.” Obviously not in the fourth season, but I’m sure there’s some kind of retribution waiting for me somewhere down the line. But I like to think he gets away with it. [laughs]”

Maisie Williams has kept busy this week promoting her film Heatstroke, while a few interviewers snuck in some Game of Thrones questions.

Maisie discusses the tragic side of Arya’s journey with Den of Geek. She also touches on a certain spoilery setting that we may see Arya in from A Feast for Crows, so be sure to click through to the article if you’d like to read that.

I would say that in the last season in particular, Arya has been on a darkening path on Game of Thrones. Do you view that as a heroic journey or a tragic one?

A bit of a tragic one, I think. People who love Arya’s story also love to [ignore] the fact that this is a 12-year-old girl with a sword. That’s not okay. And just because she says a couple of funny lines and seems to be killing the bad guys, I think people turn a blind eye to the fact that she is not okay in the head, and that if you experience this sort of world for long enough that you can’t keep on like that. So, it is a really, really sad story.

I think when Arya left the Hound, people were really like “that’s not fair! Why didn’t she just kill him?” They’re not really thinking about the bigger picture. She doesn’t know what’s right or wrong anymore, and she’s desperately trying to be a loyal person, but she’s not quite sure who that is. And she’s trying to not let her own anger get in the way of good decisions and bad decisions. She is really struggling. And as much as people like to think of her as a really strong female role model, it’s not an easy world. It’s not a heroic storyline. It is kind of sad.

In her interview with We Go This Covered, Maisie talks about the positive effect that The Hound and Arya had on each other, and what she hopes to see for Arya in Season 5.

A great element of this season that I think everyone enjoyed was the continued odd couple pairing of Arya and the Hound, but what was particularly interesting about it to me was how you could tell how a little bit of each character was rubbing off on the other as the season went along. Arya becomes a lot more vengeful, killing people without much of a second thought, while the Hound loosened up a little, right up to that point where he “defends” Arya from Brienne. Who do you think ended up changing more from being in the company of the other and why?

I feel like they both went through their own… they didn’t change. I feel like they both had that buried underneath, this big layer that they’ve worn for a long time. It’s not like they changed and warmed up to each other. They both had that loving and caring spirit inside them, but it was just so very deep that they didn’t show it, and as the season went on, it was sort of chipped away from them.

Obviously anyone who’s read A Feast for Crows knows what Arya does when she gets to Bravos, but in terms of the characters herself, how do you see her continuing to change and to grow as we head into season five?

I like to think in the coming season that she’s still going to be influenced by people, but not people who are fighting for the throne, which will be a lot more helpful I think. I think she’s trying to get away from this world that she’s lived in for so long and get away to something new. I think she’s going to realize that there are a lot more important things in life.

The Game of Thrones cast can be seen in a number of publications this month.

Sophie Turner has landed the July cover of Nylon Singapore, with a feature on Being Sansa Stark.

Lena Headey can be found on the cover of the 9th, and most recent issue of Lady Gunn, available in the App Store.

And Michiel Huisman is featured in a fashion spread for the August issue of Glamour Magazine.

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Glad to see the cast representing! That shoot with Sophie looked incredible, particularly the cover photo and the one with the red jacket, they’re my favorites! I hope we can get the full interview soon (if there was one, I’m assuming there was she’s on the cover after all).

She has another shoot coming out soon, I believe, although I’m not sure who with…? Can’t wait to see it!

Not to be a party pooper WiC, I know how adored Maisie is, but the furious repetition in her interviews is getting a bit tedious, at least for me. There’s only so many times I can read Maisie’s answers on Arya becoming a darker character before getting irritated. There are other cast members that could be focused on! (Some of the lesser known actors assuming minor roles have been attending conventions if you’re in need of new material?)

I for one would love to see Walder Frey get his next season-or failing that at least get a chance to see his reaction to no longer having Tywin Lannister for protection and understanding how much he screwed himself with the Red Wedding. Let the bastard squirm a bit. And I might be evil for thinking it, but I can’t WAIT for Frey pie!

Very insightful comments about Maisie. One thing I like about GoT is how it totally deconstructs such tropes as the youthful tomboy heroine on a adventure or Familial Avenger so that while we all love our feral Arya, there’s no denying that she’s an incredibly disturbed young woman. It basically acknowledges what most such series don’t-horrific childhood trauma might make you polish up your survival skills but it will also seriously screw you up. We’re literally watching a child transform into a psychopath before our eyes.

I would LOVE that idea. And I agree, Sophie these days is simply stunning…which makes her seem even more viable a candidate for the Younger More Beautiful Queen. I maintain that of all the potential candidates Sansa is the one that would be the most dramatic and most satisfying. Plus, since she unwittingly played a role in Joffrey’s death she’s already kinda started taking away everything Cersei holds dear.

If there’s anything resembling justice in this world, then at the end of the series, Houses Bolton & Frey will be stripped of everything they have and executed for what they did. And the Dreadfort & the Twins will be torn down. Minus people like Roslin and Fat Walda.

Agreed. House Bolton’s been on borrowed time for quite a while now considering their torture habits and record of disloyalty in the past. Plus it’s now shrunk to the regicidal traitor and all over creepy character Roose, who colloborated in the murder of thousands of his fellow Northerners, and serial killer Ramsay the only guy in Westeros who beats out Joffrey for pure sadism and depravity. Frankly, wanting them dead isn’t just a matter of vengeance but really public safety at this point.

As for House Frey, there are innocent family members like some of Roslin’s full-blooded siblings, but I think their best bet is just to take a new name, (again Roslin’s brother’s might want to start calling themselves “Rosby” for their mother’s side,) and start over somewhere else.
The Twins is now cursed for sure. But the guilty kind of HAVE to be punished here in order to preserve the principle of Guest Right, which is the foundation of diplomacy in Westeros. If they’re allowed to get away with their crimes then Guest Right is dead and with it the best tool for making and keeping peace in the Seven Kingdoms and opening the door to all kinds of chaos and lawlessness. So again really, it’s a public safety issue.

Zack:
Lena Headey is so beautiful there. It’s too bad she has to use a wig on the show.

And as for Walder Frey, if he doesn’t end up eating one of Wyman’s special pies and drinking the same wine Joffrey had at his wedding, I’m going to be very upset.

If the Rat Cook story wasn’t meant as foreshadowing for bis fate (especially with the show cutting from Bran’s story to him) I don’t know what is (at least on the show, where foreshadowing happens less often than in the books)! I think he will live long enough to see his house ruined. He kind of did/does “eat his young” with how he screwed the entire family with the RW. Not that he cares that much for individual sons and daughters – he’d probably only be upset if he lost most of them, because of what it means for him and his pride as a lord.

I like to think what’s going to happen with Walder Frey is he’s either the last of his House to live before his own death or lives just long enough to realize his own house has been brought to ruin due to his lust for power and petty grudges. Thing about the series is that bad people do get away with bad things, but when karma catches up to them they get hit THE WORST out of anybody.

Just saw David Bradley in one of the Potter movies the other day (“The Goblet Of Fire”…) and I was laughing at the weird run the does at the beginning of the movie…LOL!

Also saw the premiere of Guillermo Del Toro’s “The Strain” and loved it, I think the show will be a really good one! Seeing David Bradley get a bigger part and get to shine is quite alright by me, he is eerie and even creepy, but not a bad guy on the show, and I suspect, will be one of the main players in it, which again is alright with me since he is a fantastic actor!

As for what should happen to Walder Frey, well I hope he lives long enough for him and his entire damned family to get roasted when Dany and her dragons return to Westeros. I would like to see the Freys all burned alive…ditto for the Boltons!!!

I re-watched all 8 Potter movies back-to-back over 4 days and I always enjoyed seeing Bradley’s performance (even in 4 & 5 when his role is basically re-assigned to comedy goofball). Watching all those films gave me some great casting inspiration for Wyman Manderly. If he were still with us, Richard Griffiths would’ve been perfect for the part, but maybe they can get Robbie Coltrane instead???

Also saw David Bradley in An Adventure in Space & Time TV movie (written by Mark Gatiss) where he played William Hartnell, and he really showed off his full acting range in that too. I Couldn’t believe I could feel sorry for someone who only a few months prior had been Walder Frey of all people.

Believe me I would like the Boltons and Freys to get what they deserve, but in the GRRM universe that doesn’t always happen so I’m not getting my hopes up too high. David Bradley has been a “character” actor on British TV (and I guess in films and the theatre also) for a good few years. Last year I saw him as a sort of goodie with a northern accent; he played Polly Walker’s Dad in BBC series “Prisoners’ Wives”. He didn’t approve of his daughter’s choice of husband (they’d been married some while – there were two teenage children) who was played by – Ser Jorah. As well as playing William Hartnell in the Dr Who biopic David Bradley featured in the “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship” Dr Who story.

I understand what Sansa Bird means when he/she says the interviews with Maisie are getting a tad “samey” but in Maisie’s defence I would say she can only answer the questions that are put to her. She is an ambassador (ambassadress??) for the show in those interviews and if she was snappy and said something like “That’s the 999th time I’ve been asked that question” the paper/TV company/radio company interviewing her would report that she had been ungracious. There was a thread recently where GRRM didn’t pull his punches where he was interviewed about his possible demise and some people were not best pleased with GRRM showing that he was annoyed with the question.

She will if she wants an Emmy. If they pull off Cersei’s season 5 an Emmy would almost be a safe bet (especially after she got nominated this year- Emmy nominations tend to repeat themselves when it comes to GOT).

Flicks and the City just dropped their first Thrones-related video in many weeks. Seems to hint at a much bigger feature to follow, covering the London Comic-Con panel. If it’s this good I can’t wait to see the rest.

Great theory. It also fits with why we got to see Walder and Roose interacting on the show-because their eventual fates/comeuppance are intertwined. It really would be a way for GoT to kill two birds with one stone. Hell, I could see Walder going up North to claim some poor unfortunate girl as his new ‘bride’ since we know he’s down a wife and looking for a replacement and I don’t think they’re doing FakeArya.

My dream choices for Manderly would be either Robbie Coltrane or Brendan Gleeson though sadly they may not be available. And Manderly may be replaced by Greatjon Umber.

Valyrian Plastic:
Flicks and the City just dropped their first Thrones-related video in many weeks. Seems to hint at a much bigger feature to follow, covering the London Comic-Con panel. If it’s this good I can’t wait to see the rest.

Oh thanks Valeryan P. I know some people have issues about the actors playing Loras and Renly because they don’t equate to how they imagined the characters from reading the books, but Finn Jones and Gethin Anthony seem to be good sports at these sort of events. I can’t find the link offhand but there is a Flicks in the City video somewhere in which Gethin Anthony tells how he was drenched by Sean Bean’s taxi when he was in full Renly regalia which (to me at least) was funny.

I’ve always thought of Ian McNeice for Lord-too-fat-to-sit-a-horse Manderly but since he was in the pilot as Illyrio and recast I suppose there could be issues there.I suspect the character might be cut out although I really want to see Frey Pie :evil grin:

But yeah, I’m very disappointed in what they did to Loras this season. His only lines were with Jaime in 2 and then he’s only in the background of 5 & 6. They seem to think that establishing the women of the Tyrell family as very strong and politically-savvy whilst turning Mace and Loras into long running gags is the way to go. I’m all for a little girl-power now and then, but if it comes at the expense of character development for the men then it doesn’t work.

If there’s no show Garlan (one of my favourites from the books) or Willas then just let Loras have some of their best traits. They might even pay off in the end game (I believe George has hinted before that they’ll have a part to play in TWOW). Maybe next season he’ll get some more interactions with Jaime, Kingsguard or not.

Dame of Mercia: Oh thanks Valeryan P. I know some people have issues about the actors playing Loras and Renly because they don’t equate to how they imagined the characters from reading the books, but Finn Jones and Gethin Anthony seem to be good sports at these sort of events. I can’t find the link offhand but there is a Flicks in the City video somewhere in which Gethin Anthony tells how he was drenched by Sean Bean’s taxi when he was in full Renly regalia which (to me at least) was funny.

It’s definitely disappointing what they’ve done to the Tyrell men. I’m all for a bit of girl power, but it can’t come at the expense of character development for Mace and Loras, especially when they’ve completely cut out two very strong male characters from the family. They should give Loras a strong arc (not necessarily the one from the books because George has stated Garlan and Willas may have big roles to play in TWOW).

My one hope that the character isn’t cut is the very obvious Manderly visible at the Red Wedding. That doesn’t guarantee anything, but the groundwork has at least been laid if they choose to include him.

I know Maisie has to answer the questions given to her and she does a good job with answering them, she’s always articulate and gets her point across, but just because she answers the questions doesn’t mean they need to be covered all the time on WiC, yknow?

On the contrary, KM! The fact that he’s already been involved in Thrones means that he would be open to appearing again barring that his schedule allows it. If they’re doing Manderly, I’m sure they’ll contact him.

On the contrary, KM! The fact that he’s already been involved in Thrones means that he would be open to appearing again barring that his schedule allows it. If they’re doing Manderly, I’m sure they’ll contact him.

I hope so, he looks like a wall of blubber but he has the requisite shrewdly intelligent look to his eyes

The Bastard: You do realize this website posted an article about White Walkers & Dragons coming up in the next book.And that was in the title, right?

Those are far bigger spoilers about major characters still being around in the future then what I wrote.

So? Does that make your spoiler less so? Does that make your statement of “as we still don’t know if x and y happen in the books is not spoiler” less absurd? Saying anything about the books is a spoiler.

You remind me of those sullied that fill Oz of Thrones posts with spoilers starting with the phrase “I’m not sure if this is a spoiler, but…” it always is!!!

What is even more absurd is that instead of putting spoiler tags just in case, you wrote a whole sentence justifying yourself in advance! Why?? If you’re not sure (and you weren’t) put the tags and be done with it lol

I know Maisie has to answer the questions given to her and she does a good job with answering them, she’s always articulate and gets her point across, but just because she answers the questions doesn’t mean they need to be covered all the time on WiC, yknow?

It might just be me, but it’s irritating.

If you mean that of late we have been having more posts than before the amalgamation with Fansided but with perhaps less new or less sensible content I agree. I don’t want to become a whinger/whinger on the Wall but I have been disappointed of late. I know it isn’t easy to maintain a site like this especially as (before the merger with Fansided certainly) it was a labour of love rather than for financial gain. I usually only click if I think a feature might be of interest to me – sometimes I strike lucky, sometimes I don’t, and some of the features are quite alright.

Pau Soriano: So? Does that make your spoiler less so? Does that make your statement of “as we still don’t know if x and y happen in the books is not spoiler” less absurd? Saying anything about the books is a spoiler.

You remind me of those sullied that fill Oz of Thrones posts with spoilers starting with the phrase “I’m not sure if this is a spoiler, but…” it always is!!!

What is even more absurd is that instead of putting spoiler tags just in case, you wrote a whole sentencejustifying yourself in advance! Why?? If you’re not sure (and you weren’t) put the tags and be done with it lol

The website has set a standard that some spoilers are okay. Which is why I brought up the article about the White Walkers and Dragons being in upcoming books.

Anybody with a pulse can figure out that this is not the website to go to if you want to stay out of spoilers.

They should be done, I remember an interview where D&D said the scripts will be done early in July. All these Maisie interviews might be from a couple of weeks ago before she read the scripts. Or not… Maybe they ARE running late this year.

They should be done, I remember an interview where D&D said the scripts will be done early in July. All these Maisie interviews might be from a couple of weeks ago before she read the scripts. Or not… Maybe they ARE running late this year.

What about Martin doing one? I remember reading about mini-kong in past years but haven’t read his blog this 2014….

Lena and Sophie look fantastic! I love seeing Lena with her natural hair. And love the little blonde wisps in Sophie’s, since she is naturally blonde.
I don’t mind Maisie’s interviews rehashing the same stuff because I know that is what she is asked about constantly. I bet the upcoming SDCC will be more of the same. Plenty of questions about Arya’s future, her relationship with Sandor, etc., but she seems to have a pretty good read on Arya, so I love hearing it. Unless she has gotten a script, she may not know much, but like us, I look forward to her speculation.
Plus, I seriously cannot wait to see Rory and Maisie on the same panel because they had a fantastic banter at the Nashville con. They are both great representatives for the show at things like this.
I hope the next time we see David Bradley will be Walder getting a sword to the neck but I don’t think we will be so lucky, not for a while at least. He really is a fantastic villain.

They should be done, I remember an interview where D&D said the scripts will be done early in July. All these Maisie interviews might be from a couple of weeks ago before she read the scripts. Or not… Maybe they ARE running late this year.

Maisie said in the local TV interview 2 – 3 weeks ago ( can’t be sure when it was actually filmed) that she had seen the season’s outline for the character but not the scripts. So if they do have scripts now it can’t have been delivered much more than a week ago.

A week makes sense, so it’s still running late, but they HAVE to have the scripts now. The actors need some quality time with the scripts.

Well half of them were at Glastonbury, Sophie’s doing photoshoots, Maisie’s in LA, Peter & Kit have been working on other film/TV roles, Kristian was in Australia etc etc – they won’t have much time for readthroughs!

All Hail the Wolf Girl: Maisie said in the local TV interview 2 – 3 weeks ago ( can’t be sure when it was actually filmed) that she had seen the season’s outline for the character but not the scripts. So if they do have scripts now it can’t have been delivered much more than a week ago.

Thanks! So I guess they don’t really need to have the scripts done before July…

I like that she isn’t ignoring the very complex and troubling nature of Arya’s journey. All too often, Arya’s struggle and trauma are overlooked in order to simplify her. But as this story’s representative of the all too real child soldier trope, simplifying her into something easy to vilify or easy to glorify is missing the point of her and of this serious issue.

That said I do believe Arya’s story is a heroic one as well as a sad one. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. It is incredibly sad to read about a child put in positions where she is forced to kill to survive, taught that killing criminals/enemies is right by those she admires (ex. Ned executing men himself, 15-year-old Robb going to war with even younger squires), and exposed to the worst horrors of the world. That is all tragic. But that doesn’t necessarily take away the heroine’s journey her arc has been following very closely from the beginning.

These two aspects complicate each other in a very interesting way. As Fitzgerald said,”Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy.” The tragedy is a vital part of her heroine’s journey.

Very well said!
I have to say Maisie impressed me at the start of the season, during interviews, when she spoke about Arya not being everyone’s favorite anymore (or, right now). That she isn’t in a good place, and falling deeper still into darkness, and that fans are going to find it hard reconcile what she is becoming. She has a solid grasp on the damage Arya’s journey has, and is continuing to, cause on her identity.

Oh…and I agree her arc is ultimate heroic. The means to that end may be filled with some questionable actions but I don’t think Arya Stark, at her core, is lost to us.

I assume GRRM had his script done several weeks before he embarked on his European tour on June 27. I believe he returned to NM today. He has been awfully mum on any script topic this year, unlike previous years. :/

In prev years, I thought the writers completed final rewrites of their scripts in May.